Gov. Sonny Perdue openly acknowledged Atlanta’s traffic congestion as a curse brought on by the city’s rapid growth and its prosperity during a reception at the residence of the U.S. consul general in Munich, Germany, June 26.

But he quickly added that discussions earlier in the day with officials of Siemens AG, which has a main office in Munich, provided solutions “that can help us move people around faster.”

He cited the talks with the Siemens officials as reflective of “the creative spirit” of the Bavarian people. Munich is the capital of Bavaria, which is the southernmost and largest of the German states.

Mr. Perdue thanked Bavarian-based companies for investing in Georgia, and promoted Georgia’s logistic capabilities due to its geographic location, transportation infrastructure, university expertise and supporting companies.

U.S. Consul General Eric Nelson hosted the reception for Mr. Perdue, who is heading a trade mission through Europe. Georgia’s European office, headed by Antje Abshoff, is located in Munich.

Ken Stewart, the commissioner and of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Chris Young, chief of protocol, accompanied Mr. Perdue. Craig Lesser, the department’s former commissioner and currently a managing director at the Atlanta-based law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge LLP, was traveling separately in the region and attended the reception.

Michael Krause and Stefan Tiessen, attorneys with the Atlanta-based firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP; Teri Simmons, an attorney with the Arnall, Golden and Gregory LLP, also based in Atlanta and Hans Gant, vice president of economic development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, were among the attendees.

Others at the reception included Rudi Herbst, CEO of United Soft Plastics Inc.; Dick Fretwurst, head of global operations for Hering GmbH & Co. KG;

Pascal Mangold, managing director, and Tom Darcy, head of development for Mangold International GmbH; Helmut K. Werner, chairman and CEO of Germania of America;

Klaus Hahn, managing director of Flux-Gerate GmbH and Peter Soschinkski, CEO, Expotechnik Heinz Soschinski GmbH.

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To learn more about Mr. Perdue trip through Europe, go to www.stateofgeorgiamissions.com